The silence after an application is the worst part of job hunting. You have sent the CV, checked your inbox forty times, and the company has said nothing. Following up is normal and, done right, it helps: it puts your name back in front of the recruiter and shows you are genuinely interested. Done wrong, it marks you as someone who does not read the room.
When to follow up
Not before a week. Most companies in Pakistan take one to three weeks to shortlist. Writing after two days looks anxious.
After 7 to 10 working days for a normal application. After the stated date if the advertisement gave a closing date or a "we will contact shortlisted candidates by" line. After 3 to 5 days if you were promised a response by a specific day and it has passed.
If the ad said "only shortlisted candidates will be contacted," a single follow-up is still acceptable, but keep expectations low.
Who to write to
The person who posted the job or received your application. If you applied through a portal with no named contact, look up the company on LinkedIn and find someone in HR or the hiring department. Writing to the CEO of a two-hundred-person company about a junior role is not initiative; it is a nuisance.
What to write
Short. Polite. Specific. Easy to answer.
Subject: Following up — Accounts Assistant application — Ayesha Rahman
Dear Ms. Farooqi,
I applied for the Accounts Assistant role on 4 September through Rozee.pk and wanted to check whether the position is still open and if there is anything further you need from me.
I remain very interested — the role's focus on manufacturing accounts is exactly the direction I want to take. My CV is attached again for convenience.
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards, Ayesha Rahman 0300 1234567
Four things make that work. The subject line tells them what it is before they open it. The first sentence gives the date and channel so they can find your application. There is one line of genuine interest. It ends.
What not to write
- "I hope this email finds you well" — filler; delete it.
- "I would be a great asset to your company" — they will decide that.
- Anything about how long you have been waiting, how many places you have applied, or how much you need the job. It is true and it is irrelevant.
- A restatement of your whole CV. It is attached.
How many times
Twice, at most. First follow-up at 7–10 days. If nothing, a second at about three weeks, even shorter than the first: "Checking whether the Accounts Assistant role has been filled. If so, I would be grateful if you kept my CV on file for future openings." After that, stop. Silence is an answer, and a recruiter who has ignored two polite emails will not respond well to a third.
Phone calls
In Pakistan a phone call is often more effective than email, especially with smaller companies. Same rules: wait a week, keep it to thirty seconds, be polite to whoever answers, and do not call more than once. "Assalam-o-alaikum, my name is Ayesha Rahman, I applied for the accounts assistant position last week and wanted to ask if the process is still ongoing." If they say they will call back, thank them and do not call again for another week.
Only if the company gave you a WhatsApp number for the application. Do not find a recruiter's personal number and message it; that crosses a line for most people.
After an interview
Different situation. Send a thank-you email the same day — three lines, mentioning one specific thing from the conversation. Then, if they gave you a date for a decision, wait until the day after it before following up. If they did not, wait a week.
When to let it go
If two follow-ups produce nothing, treat the application as closed and move on. Keep the company in your tracker with a note; roles reopen, and a recruiter who sees a polite, un-pushy candidate applying again six months later remembers that.
Keep track
Once you are applying to more than four or five places, you will lose track of who you wrote to and when. The application tracker on this site records each application, sets a follow-up date, and flags the ones that are due — and the career writing tools have a follow-up email draft you can adapt in a minute.